Ideate Explorer for MEP Engineers

MEP engineering building information models present their own unique challenges to project navigation and auditing within the Revit environment. Ideate Explorer is here to help with both daily production tasks and project auditing tasks that are unique to MEP engineers. 

For example, MEP engineers make extensive use of the Revit filter tool to control visibility, but with Ideate Explorer those same filters can be leveraged to dramatically enhance element selection within any view. In the image below the Mechanical Supply Filter is being used in conjunction with the Level-based sort, making it easy to quickly view and select only the ducts and fittings that relate to the supply. 

Additionally, MEP Engineers can use the Ideate Query tool within Ideate Explorer to Review the Elevation Values to discover quickly if any of the elements have been assigned to the wrong elevation or offset or to sort the project data quickly by the Level or Phase settings.

Learn more about how MEP Engineers can make the most of Ideate Explorer in this short video.

This blog post was originally published on the Ideate Software blog.

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About the Author

Vasudha Dixit - ENI Application Specialist 

Vasudha is an MEP Application Specialist at Ideate, Inc. based on San Francisco office. She has a Master’s degree in Energy Engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago where she specialized in HVAC design, green buildings and energy analysis. Prior to Ideate, she interned at a few multinational companies where she performed finite element analysis for design validation of components. Vasudha provides Revit MEP training and support for various AEC firms.

Ideate, Inc. Publishes Ideate Software Presents: Spotlight on ZGF

SAN FRANCISCO, California, 03/17/2015–Ideate, Inc., a multi-decade veteran Autodesk Developer Network member and Autodesk Platinum Value Added Reseller today announced the publication of its latest “Spotlight on” customer success profile featuring ZGF Architects LLP and its use of Ideate Software including Ideate BIMLink and Ideate Explorer for Revit.

Ideate Software is a set of far-reaching Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) data management tools that help the Revit community clean up models, delete problem items, analyze files quickly, enhance data flow speed and accuracy, increase collaboration, minimize workflow interruptions, improve project deliverables, and elevate design.

Trevor Taylor, BIM Director, ZGF Portland, Oregon, acknowledges the place Autodesk Revit holds in helping the firm meet contemporary challenges and compete in a changing world of design, and the importance of Ideate Software as projects grow more complex. As Taylor explains, “We used to share drawings; now we share data. And that data doesn’t sit still. Ideate BIMLink improves on Revit’s ability to constantly review and adjust project information.”

Taylor uses Ideate Explorer for model auditing, power selection and model maintenance. He says, “A Revit model can be a bit of a Black Box, thus making forensics and problem-solving difficult. With Ideate Explorer for Revit, we can quickly locate, modify and even remove items that would be otherwise invisible to even the most persistent Revit expert.”

Bob Palioca, President, Ideate Inc., says about the trend within the AEC community toward increasing complexity and demands for shared data, “Our customers depend on our Revit-based solutions to enhance, improve and streamline their Revit workflows. It is our delight to fulfill and consistently exceed these customer expectations.”

Ideate has published “Ideate Software Presents: Spotlight on ZGF” online. Download the Customer Spotlight Success Study.

Ideate BIMLink and Ideate Explorer for Revit each carry a five star rating on the Autodesk Exchange Apps Store, and are available with a non-commercial free trial. For more information, call 888.662.7238, or contact sales@ideatesoftware.com.

About Ideate, Inc.
Ideate, Inc. is a leading Autodesk Authorized Developer with 25+ years’ experience in software development and specific focus on Building Information Modeling (BIM). As an Autodesk solutions provider, Ideate has offered quality software, training, support and custom consulting services to the architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) industries since 1992. Headquartered in San Francisco, California and operating Autodesk Authorized Training Centers (ATCs) in California, Oregon and Washington, Ideate is recognized as an Autodesk Platinum Partner for Architecture, Engineering and Construction, Autodesk’s highest level of authorization.

About Ideate Software
Ideate Software allows Revit users to have unprecedented control over their data. Ideate BIMLink, Ideate Explorer for Revit, and Ideate Sticky were all developed to solve persistent problems in Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) workflows. Ideate Software solutions enable Revit users to save time, increase accuracy, improve project deliverables, and elevate design.

Autodesk and ATC are registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates, in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

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eLearning - Upcoming Revit, ReCap, Navisworks, and Ideate Software Classes

Join the Ideate Tech Experts for eLearning – live online classes that provide your entire organization with easy access to premium education. 

2.18::Infrastructure 201:
Working with Recap

2.18::Ideate Software:
Revit Auditing with Ideate Explorer for Revit

2.19::Ideate Software:
Revit Auditing with Ideate Explorer for Revit

2.20::Revit 201:
Shared Parameters and Schedules in Revit MEP

2.24::Revit 201:
Creating Custom Curtain Walls, Panels, Storefronts and Mullions

2.26::Revit 201:
Conceptual Massing Studies

2.27::Navisworks 101:
Introduction to Navisworks Manage

Each class is designed to give you specific, improved results in a particular topic. You can interact with the instructor right from your own office, while eliminating travel time. Because the class schedule rotates, you can easily select your topics of interest and choose the day which best meets your schedule.

Click here for class descriptions, times and registration link. Questions? Contact education@ideateinc.com

Get It. Know It. Use It.

eLearning - Upcoming Revit, ReCap, and Ideate Software Classes

Join the Ideate Tech Experts for eLearning – live online classes that provide your entire organization with easy access to premium education. 

2.6::Revit 201:
Rapid Detailing

2.10::Infrastructure 201:
Working with ReCap

2.13::Revit 201:
Worksharing Best Practices

2.17::Revit 201:
Working with Wall Types in Revit Architecture

2.18::Ideate Software:
Revit Auditing with Ideate Explorer for Revit 

2.19::Ideate Software:
Revit Auditing with Ideate Explorer for Revit 

2.20::Revit 201:
Shared Parameters and Schedules in Revit MEP

Each class is designed to give you specific, improved results in a particular topic. You can interact with the instructor right from your own office, while eliminating travel time. Because the class schedule rotates, you can easily select your topics of interest and choose the day which best meets your schedule.

Click here for class descriptions, times and registration link. Questions? Contact education@ideateinc.com

Get It. Know It. Use It.

Events: Applying BIM to a Historic Structure

Revit User Groups - Join us in February to explore the San Francisco War Memorial Veterans Building. Built in 1932,  it is one of the last major American Buildings constructed in the Beaux–Arts style. Standing across the street from the City Hall, it is part of a state and local historic district, and is a designated local historic landmark. In 2011, the City of San Francisco initiated a $96 million renovation project, driven by the need for a seismic upgrade. The project team used Revit for coordination purposes during design. The contractor used both Navisworks and Tekla for coordination during construction. Major structural work is now complete, and the project is on schedule to open later this year. This presentation will focus on the costs and benefits of applying BIM to a historic structure, as well as the unique challenges the team faced during construction.

Pre-Presentation Lunch & Networking
          ...Provided by Ideate...
          11:30 AM - 12:00 PM

February 10 :: Applying BIM to a Historic Structure
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

AIA Central Valley
1400 S Street
Suite 100
Sacramento, CA 95814

Register Now!

February 11 :: Applying BIM to a Historic Structure
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

AIA SAN FRANCISCO
130 Sutter Street
Suite 600
San Francisco, CA 94104

Register Now!

February 17 :: Applying BIM to a Historic Structure
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

AIA East Bay
1405 Clay Street
Oakland, CA 94612

Register Now!


About the Presenter

Benjamin Mohr
Senior Structural Engineer – SGH
Benjamin Mohr is a senior structural engineer at SGH. He has over nine years of structural design experience, and specializes in seismic retrofits. He has masters degrees in both architecture and structural engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Benjamin participated in peer review committees for two–rise projects, and is an active member in the Structural Engineers Association of Northern California. He spent three years working on the expansion and retrofit of the San Francisco State University Library, which won both state and national awards for engineering excellence.

eLearning - Upcoming Revit, ReCap, and Ideate Software Classes

Join the Ideate Tech Experts for eLearning – live online classes that provide your entire organization with easy access to premium education. 

1.28::Revit 201:
Working with Materials in Revit

2.6::Revit 201:
Rapid Detailing

2.10::Infrastructure 201:
Working with ReCap

2.13::Revit 201:
Worksharing Best Practices

2.17::Revit 201:
Working with Wall Types in Revit Architecture

2.18::Ideate Software:
Revit Auditing with Ideate Explorer for Revit

2.19::Ideate Software:
Revit Auditing with Ideate Explorer for Revit

Each class is designed to give you specific, improved results in a particular topic. You can interact with the instructor right from your own office, while eliminating travel time. Because the class schedule rotates, you can easily select your topics of interest and choose the day which best meets your schedule.

Click here for class descriptions, times and registration link. Questions? Contact education@ideateinc.com

Get It. Know It. Use It.

Sifting Through Unreferenced View Tags in Revit – Part 2

In the first part of this two part blog post, I introduced a way to graphically identify unreferenced views by applying a red color to view tags that have not been placed on sheets. The process is fairly straightforward: create a filter for callouts, sections and elevations with a blank sheet value and then apply a red color to those tags. If you wanted to keep this filter consistent from view to view, then you can add these filters and color rules to your view templates.

But what if you wanted to customize your section, callout and elevation tags so that they displayed TEMP or TEMP VIEW in the tag itself? Well, the good news is that you can easily do so with very little effort! If properly created, you can even have the views automatically categorize themselves within the project browser without the need for a custom browser organization.

From time to time, it is a good idea to remove unwanted views since they contribute to increased file sizes. With this method, it will be very easy to identify and remove unwanted views from your model. In addition, since the temporary views will be unreferenced, they will not print due to the hide unreferenced view tags settings in the print dialogue box.


To build the temporary tags, you will need to go to Manage > Additional Settings and select the type of tag you want to create. In this example, we will focus on Section & Callout Tags. Elevation tags are similar but the tag creation requires a custom body and pointer family first.

To create the temporary section head, simply edit your standard section head family and remove all of the detail reference labels. You will then replace the reference labels with text (TEMP, or TEMP VIEW) since these views will not be placed on sheets. Be sure to save this family with a new name since you do not want to overwrite your standard section head family. In this case, I saved this family as Section Head – Filled Temporary.rfa. Once saved, load the family into your template. Note: This process is the same for the callout head.

  

Now that you have created your temporary tag families (section, callout or both), you can now build the tag. To do so go to Manage > Additional Settings and select the type of tag you want to create. In this example, I duplicated my building section tag and renamed it so that it had the word Temporary in it. I then swapped out the Section Head - Filled for the Section Head – Filled Temporary family file that I just loaded into my template. I left the Section Tail as is since it is graphically appropriate. Note: This process is the same for the Callout Tag.

Once you have built the Temporary Section tag (and/or callout tag) you are now ready to assemble those tags as a section type. In this example, I duplicated the Building Section system family, then renamed it as Temporary Section. Once renamed, I applied the temporary Callout Tag and Section Tag that I created earlier. Note: This process is the same for the Plan and Detail Callout Tag.

 

 

Now that you have created the Section and Callout Type, you are ready to use them in your drawings. Here is an example of the Temporary Section and Temporary Detail Views categorized without any customization to the project browser. Finding these views is easy and will allow you to make an informed decision on which views to keep and which views to delete.
 

Here is an example of the Temporary Section and Temporary Detail Views in your model. As you can see, it is really easy to distinguish between the views on sheets and the temporary views. Since these views are unreferenced, you can apply the filtering rules from the Part 1 blog post and color these sections to further distinguish the various view types.
 

 

 



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Sash Kazeminejad, ACI, LEED AP
AEC Senior Application Specialist
Sash brings proficiency in Autodesk solutions including AutoCAD and Revit Architecture to Ideate customers. His industry experience includes project management, BIM Management, and design for Architectural firms in California, Montana and Oregon. He is LEED accredited professional and is on track to achieve California licensure with Oregon to follow. In his academic life, Sash was awarded a variety of college scholarships, earned a BA in Environmental Design, a MA in Architecture from Montana State University (MSU) and taught Building Information Modeling courses at MSU Gallatin College. As a Revit Architecture Autodesk Certified Instructor, Sash provides Revit Architecture training and support for AEC firms. @sashpdx

Get it. Know it. Use it.

Events: Pre–design Revit Roundtable Discussion

Revit User Groups - Happy New Year from Ideate! We are kicking off the 2015 year with a moderated discussion on Revit and pre-design tasks. Whether the challenge is architectural programming, space planning, or other conceptual design tasks, most would argue that Revit is not an ideal pre-design tool. With each company approaching this topic differently, we want to share each other's ideas and experiences.

January 26 :: Pre–design Revit Roundtable Discussion 
1:30 PM - 3:30 PM

AIA SAN FRANCISCO
130 Sutter Street
Suite 600
San Francisco, CA 94104

Register Here

January 27 :: Pre–design Revit Roundtable Discussion 
11:30 AM - 1:30 PM

AIA East Bay
1405 Clay Street
Oakland, CA 94612

Register Here

Come prepared to discuss these questions:

• Are you actively using Revit as part of your pre-design process? If so, which elements are being used and what are the pros and cons?
• What are some ways architects might use Rooms, Areas, Spaces, or Masses?
• Ways engineers might use Masses or other elements?
• Which third party tools are you using to manage pre-design process?
• Regardless of your pre-design solution, what are the challenges in taking that information and moving it forward into the schematic design

Sash Kazeminejad, ACI, LEED AP
AEC Senior Application Specialist
Sash brings proficiency in Autodesk solutions including AutoCAD and Revit Architecture to Ideate customers. His industry experience includes project management, BIM Management, and design for Architectural firms in California, Montana and Oregon. He is LEED accredited professional and is on track to achieve California licensure with Oregon to follow. In his academic life, Sash was awarded a variety of college scholarships, earned a BA in Environmental Design, a MA in Architecture from Montana State University (MSU) and taught Building Information Modeling courses at MSU Gallatin College. As a Revit Architecture Autodesk Certified Instructor, Sash provides Revit Architecture training and support for AEC firms. @sashpdx

Get it. Know it. Use it.

Sifting Through Unreferenced View Tags in Revit - Part 1

If there is anything that I am guilty of in Revit, it is the overuse of temporary, or what Revit calls unreferenced, views in my model. When I create model geometry, I need to get a quick look it at from a variety of vantage points. The problem is, I tend to forget to delete the unreferenced views after I create and use them. As the model progresses, I find that my model is littered with views, which can lead to confusion between model geometry and unreferenced views. The best practice, of course, is to delete all unreferenced views. Not only does it make searching through your model a lot easier, it will also keep your file size down and your model streamlined. It is probably safe to say that no one likes sifting through hundreds of unreferenced views the Project Browser until they find the view that they are looking for. 

Wouldn’t it be nice if we can easily see the unreferenced views in our model and then make an informed decision on what to do with them? With the following instructions, we will show you how you can take all of the unreferenced views in your model and color them so that they graphically pop out, allowing you to quickly decide on whether you want to keep or delete the view.

Stay tuned for the second part of this blog post, which will demonstrate other ways to deal with temporary views in your Revit model.

Most often, unreferenced views are placed so that certain portions of the model can be viewed during design and production. The problem is we tend to leave them in our model and the tags start to blend in with adjacent geometry.

One of the ways in which you can sort for views that are not on sheets is to organize the project browser by the "Not On Sheets" option. Once toggled, the Revit Project Browser will only display views that are not on sheets. From there, you can identify the views that you want to keep and those that you want to discard.

If you are interested in changing the graphical display for the unreferenced view tags, then we can use Revit Filters for this task. The first step is to define a new filter by Defining Criteria. In this example, we are going to call this filter Unreferenced Views and select the "Define Criteria" radio button.

Once you have created the filter, you are ready to define the criteria. For this particular example, I went ahead and picked "Callouts" and "Sections". You can certainly add other categories if you wish. Once you select the categories, then you need to define the Filter Rules. In this example, I want to filter by a Sheet Number that does not contain anything.

Now that you have defined the filter criteria, you need to apply that filter to the views that you wish to alter the appearance of the tags in. In this example, I added the "Unreferenced Views filter" to my 01 – Entry Level plan and decided to override the color of the unreferenced view tags with a red color and a #4 line weight.

Here are the results of the filter and graphical override once applied to the view. If you intend on applying this filter and override to many views, it may be a good idea to include it in your view templates.

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Sash Kazeminejad, ACI, LEED AP
AEC Senior Application Specialist
Sash brings proficiency in Autodesk solutions including AutoCAD and Revit Architecture to Ideate customers. His industry experience includes project management, BIM Management, and design for Architectural firms in California, Montana and Oregon. He is LEED accredited professional and is on track to achieve California licensure with Oregon to follow. In his academic life, Sash was awarded a variety of college scholarships, earned a BA in Environmental Design, a MA in Architecture from Montana State University (MSU) and taught Building Information Modeling courses at MSU Gallatin College. As a Revit Architecture Autodesk Certified Instructor, Sash provides Revit Architecture training and support for AEC firms. @sashpdx

Get it. Know it. Use it.

Ideate Software Reception at Autodesk University 2014

Register For the Reception Here! 

Customer Appreciation Reception:
As an Ideate customer, you are invited to attend our Ideate Software user group meeting and customer appreciation event during AU 2014.

Please join us for a wine and hors d’oeuvres reception the evening of Tuesday December 2nd, at the beautiful Aureole Las Vegas in the Mandalay Bay Resort. We look forward to spending the evening celebrating a great and productive 2014, with plenty of BIM chat as well. 

Tuesday, December 2nd 2014 
8:00pm-10:00pm 

Aureole Las Vegas (map) 
Mandalay Bay Resort 
3950 Las Vegas Blvd South 
Las Vegas, NV 89119 

Come See Ideate Software Booth at Autodesk University 2014: 
Thank you for your continued support of Ideate Software. We look forward to seeing you at AU in December. Join us at booth 164 to check out the new developments with Ideate Software and how it can enhance your Revit workflow. 

Event: Autodesk University (AU) 2014 
Where: Booth 164, Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nevada 
When: December 2–4, 2014 

For more information: View the full invitation. Register here. 

Ideate Software keeps you on the leading edge of BIM.

This post was originally published on the Ideate Software Blog.

eLearning - Upcoming Revit, Infrastructure and Ideate Software Classes

Join the Ideate Tech Experts for eLearning – live online classes that provide your entire organization with easy access to premium education. 

11.12::Ideate Software:
Revit Auditing with Ideate Explorer for Revit

11.13::Revit 201:
Stairs and Railings in Revit

11.14::Revit 201:
Revit Import into 3ds Max Design

11.18::Revit 201:
Site Tools

11.24::Infrastructure 201:
Object & Label styles

11.25::Revit 201:
Ideate BIMLink for Revit MEP Projects

Each class is designed to give you specific, improved results in a particular topic. You can interact with the instructor right from your own office, while eliminating travel time. Because the class schedule rotates, you can easily select your topics of interest and choose the day which best meets your schedule.

Click here for class descriptions, times and registration link. Questions? Contact education@ideateinc.com

Get It. Know It. Use It.

eLearning - Upcoming Revit, Ideate Software, Civil 3D, and Navisworks Classes

Join the Ideate Tech Experts for eLearning – live online classes that provide your entire organization with easy access to premium education. 

7.9::Infrastructure 201:

Object & Label Styles

7.10::Ideate Software:

Revit Auditing with Ideate Explorer for Revit

7.15::Revit 201:

Revit MEP and Low Voltage Systems

7.17::Ideate Software:

Revit Project Management with Ideate BIMLink

7.18::Navisworks 201:
Clash detection

Each class is designed to give you specific, improved results in a particular topic. You can interact with the instructor right from your own office, while eliminating travel time. Because the class schedule rotates, you can easily select your topics of interest and choose the day which best meets your schedule.

Click here for class descriptions, times and registration link. Questions? Contact education@ideateinc.com

Get It. Know It. Use It.

Ideate, Inc. Features Lionakis in Its First Ideate Explorer for Revit Study in Success

SAN FRANCISCO, California – 11/19/2013 - Ideate, Inc., a leading Autodesk Authorized Developer and Autodesk solutions provider offering quality software, training, support and custom consulting services to the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry with a special focus on Building Information Modeling (BIM), today announced the publication of its first Ideate Explorer for Revit-focused Study in Success, “One Secret Ingredient in Lionakis’ Quality Control—Ideate Explorer for Revit.”

California-based Lionakis has played a significant role in shaping the built environment throughout the State of California for more than a century. The multi-disciplined privately held firm specializes in architecture, engineering, interiors, planning, sustainability and graphics, and ranks in the top 25 of California’s leading architectural firms.

The firm’s Quality Control (QC) process provides a system for verifying and maintaining a desired level of quality in its BIM files by planning, continued inspection, and corrective action as required. Lionakis’ approach to its BIM projects includes firm-wide standards and a Revit-strong design staff. It also includes an in-house Design Technology (DT) team of Revit experts who create and maintain the Lionakis Revit master template and help the entire staff keep their Revit projects standardized and clean.

In the same way that the DT team peers deeply into Lionakis’ Revit files, the Study in Success peers deeply into Lionakis’ QC processes, with special attention to the ways Lionakis ensures confidence and trust in ever more complex and potentially error-prone BIM models. AEC firms of all sizes and members of related industries will have special interest in the Study in Success.

Kirk Cox, Design Technology Application Manager, Design Technology Studio, Lionakis, explains the vital nature of QC by saying, “It is always best to get the project back on the right path so the team can be as productive as possible. Having an effective QA/QC process translates to dollars and cents at the end of the day.”

Bob Palioca, President, Ideate Inc., says, “While we have published many articles about Ideate BIMLink, this is our first Ideate Explorer for Revit-focused Study in Success. We are gratified that our solution is helping to ensure project accuracy, reduce errors and save time, and we are pleased that Ideate Explorer for Revit has become indispensable for Lionakis’ staff training. We are overwhelmingly delighted with our customer’s success, and we are honored to share Lionakis’ valuable QC insights with the AEC community.”

Ideate has published “One Secret Ingredient in Lionakis’ Quality Control—Ideate Explorer for Revit” online. Download the Study in Success at http://www.ideateinc.com/ideas/case.html.

Ideate Software will be at Autodesk University, December 3-5, 2013, Booth 1913, The Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada.  

About Ideate, Inc.
Ideate, Inc. is a leading Autodesk Authorized Developer with 25+ years’ experience in software development and specific focus on Building Information Modeling (BIM) and is an Autodesk solutions provider offering quality software, training, support and custom consulting services to the AEC industry since 1992. Headquartered in San Francisco, California and operating five Autodesk Authorized Training Centers (ATCs) in the northwestern U.S., Ideate is recognized as an Autodesk Gold Partner for Architecture, Engineering and Construction, one of Autodesk’s highest levels of authorization.

Ideate BIMLink lets users pull data from an Autodesk Revit file into user-friendly Microsoft Excel and push Excel data into Revit with equal ease. www.ideatebimlink.com. Ideate Explorer for Revit is a simple, powerful Autodesk Revit add-on to explore, quantify and manage the 100,000+ building elements in a Revit model. www.ideateexplorer.com

Autodesk, ATC, and Revit are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. Microsoft Excel is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

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Are You Executing on Your Workset Plan?

You’ve spent the time to devise a great way to organize your Autodesk Revit project with worksets. Your plan is excellent and will decrease time wasted opening unnecessary information and ensure that only the desired information will be printed within the deliverables.

BUT… are you actually executing on this plan?

Ideate Explorer for Revit knows, so take a peek at your project today and be sure that you are executing on your workset plan!

Try the Ideate Explorer for Revit Free Trial today.

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Glynnis Patterson is a registered architect and the Director of Software Development at Ideate, Inc.

Dealing with CAD Files in Revit

Did I link it or did I import it? Was the box checked for “Current view only” selected or not? Where is it! It wasn’t exploded was it??? Do these phrases come to mind when asked these questions? I don’t remember? I think I did? I have no clue…, I hope not! I recently had a conversation with a client who wanted to search for CAD files within a Revit Model and had  these very questions. With the latest release of Ideate Explorer for Revit you’ll be able to answer these  questions and more…

Did I Link or Import the CAD file?
Within the Revit products the only way to know if a user linked a CAD file is to go to Insert tab and select the button then the CAD Formats tab.   Using this function in Revit gives the user an idea of what CAD Files in the Revit Model have been Linked. Note that it does NOT provide any information about files that have been imported!

Ideate Explorer informs the user if CAD Files are Linked or Imported by separating them out into two distinct categories: CAD Imports & CAD Links.

Was the box checked for “Current view only” selected or not?
 Within the Revit products the only way a user knows if the “current view only” option has or hasn’t been selected is when the CAD File shows up in a view other than the inserted view. That is of course, as long as a team member hasn’t turned it off with the various Revit graphic tools. 

Ideate Explorer informs the user through separating out the CAD files into DWG File or DWG File <View-Specific> whether they are linked or imported.

• DWG File = CAD Files found in this section informs the user that these CAD Files may be found in multiple views because the “Current view only" option wasn't used during insertion/linking.
• DWG File <View-Specific> = CAD files found under this section informs the user that these CAD Files can only be found in the view that they have been inserted in, or there was a check in the box for “Current view only”.

Where is it!  It wasn’t exploded was it????

To find a linked or imported CAD file within the Revit products it is truly a "hunt and peck" process for the user.

One of  the method that could be used to find an Import is by using the Line Stylestool found in the Manage Tab > Settings panel.  Within this tool the user is able to tell if an imported CAD file has been exploded by the presence of certain line styles. 

When using Ideate Explorer a user can quickly determine if an imported CAD file has been Partially or Fully exploded.  My two favorite ways within Ideate Explorer are:1. Searching for symbols = Within Ideate Explorer CAD Imports category I look for DWG files that repeat multiple times with symbol name at the end.

2. Search for Line Styles – Within Ideate Explorer I look at the Lines > detail Lines category looking for CAD Layers names like DEFPOINTS etc.

Ideate Explorer can quickly find elements in the model like imported CAD Files.  Ideate Explorer has a Show Elements tool which when selected will zoom to the item in Revit that you’ve.  This is similar to the “Highlight in Model” function in Revit schedules.  Users can access the Show Elements several different way.  My favorite method is as follows:

• Select an element in the Results window  

• Select the Show Elements (Zoom to Selected) button from the Top right of the Results window.

Happy searching! If you would like to make suggestions on what you would like to see in future releases of Ideate Explorer for Revit send us your ideas.

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Eugene . O’Day, IX
AEC Application Specialist
Eugene A. O’Day, IX, with more than 25 years of architectural and mechanical experience, offers a trained focus on all things Revit and BIM. Teaching is a passion of his. Eugene has been an instructor in undergraduate degree programs, has traveled worldwide teaching Autodesk solutions to major corporations, has taught at accredited ATCs throughout the Northwestern region, and is a frequent and popular instructor, speaker, and presenter for AUGI® CAD Camps, Revit – and related product user groups. He has also been a trusted public school district advisor on new drafting instructor hires. At Ideate, Eugene provides training and support for Revit Architecture, Revit Structure and AutoCAD. Eugene is also a Revit Architecture Autodesk Certified Professional.

Get it. Know it. Use it.

Newly Published Autodesk Developer Network Partner Success Story Features Ideate, Inc.

SAN FRANCISCO, California – 6/26/2013 - Ideate, Inc., a leading Autodesk Authorized Developer and Autodesk solutions provider offering quality software, training, support and custom consulting services to the AEC industry, today announced the publication by Autodesk, Inc. of its latest Autodesk Developer Network Partner Success Story, “Exceling at problem solving: Ideate leverages decades of experience to help customers solve problems and reap the rewards of BIM.”

The Autodesk Developer Network Partner Success Story reveals how Ideate-developed Autodesk Revit product-based applications—Ideate Explorer for Revit and Ideate BIMLink—have become highly successful solutions that stem from customer pain points. Marketed worldwide directly, through partners and via Autodesk Exchange Apps, these tools address the ever-growing need to access and manage BIM data with ease, speed and precision.

Glynnis Patterson, Ideate Director of Software Development says, “We are helping customers identify and understand the hidden costs and loss of revenue due to process inefficiencies, while our solutions help customers eliminate bottlenecks, overcome workflow gaps and dramatically improve efficiencies. Tasks that once took days and hours take seconds. Costs drop substantially. Productivity climbs. The outcomes are gratifying.”

According to Jim Quanci, director of the Autodesk Developer Network, “The dedication to interoperability with Autodesk Revit makes Ideate a valued and trusted Autodesk Developer Network partner. Ideate consistently delivers comprehensive, easy-to-use applications to our AEC customers so they can maximize productivity and efficiency, and extend the power of their Autodesk software.”

Bob Palioca, President, Ideate Inc., says of the Autodesk Developer Network partnership, “We were BIM and Autodesk Developer Network pioneers. Being a member of ADN is a robust and strategic relationship. We find it’s important to be informed about upcoming functionality and to get the tools and technical assistance for early application development. It is one important way we enhance our customers’ workflows and contribute to their success.”

Ideate has published “Exceling at problem solving: Ideate leverages decades of experience to help customers solve problems and reap the rewards of BIM” online. Download the Study in Success at http://www.ideateinc.com/ideas/case.html

About Ideate, Inc.
Ideate, Inc. is a leading Autodesk Authorized Developer with 25+ years’ experience in software development and specific focus on Building Information Modeling (BIM) and is an Autodesk solutions provider offering quality software, training, support and custom consulting services to the AEC industry since 1992. Headquartered in San Francisco, California and operating five Autodesk Authorized Training Centers (ATCs) in the northwestern U.S., Ideate is recognizedas an Autodesk Gold Partner for Architecture, Engineering and Construction, one of Autodesk’s highest levels of authorization.

Ideate BIMLink lets users pull data from an Autodesk Revit file into user-friendly Microsoft Excel and push Excel data into Revit with equal ease. www.ideatebimlink.com

Ideate Explorer for Revit is a simple, powerful Autodesk Revit add-on to explore, quantify and manage the 100,000+ building elements in a Revit model. www.ideateexplorer.com

Autodesk, ATC, and Revit are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. 

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Ideate, Inc. Publishes New Study in Success Featuring Kasian and Ideate BIMLink

SAN FRANCISCO, California – 5/28/2013 – Ideate, Inc., a leading Autodesk® Authorized Developer and Autodesk solutions provider offering quality software, training, support and custom consulting services to the AEC industry, today announced the publication of its latest Study in Success, “Kasian Sets a New Facilities Planning Standard using Ideate BIMLink.” 

The study reveals how Kasian Architecture, Interior Design and Planning, with offices in Canada, China and the Middle East, is eliminating information bottlenecks and easing workflows by using Ideate BIMLink for Autodesk Revit®. The Kasian office in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, developed and spearheaded the use of Room Data Sheets (RDS) which enable the firm to harness all relevant BIM data for project stakeholders. The practice is fast becoming facilities planning policy for the firm worldwide.

The Ideate BIMLink-facilitated approach came out of a need to overcome escalating costs in time and prospective software purchases. To formulate and verify a single large project’s program/spatial requirements via traditional methods, Kasian estimated a cost of $400,000 Canadian (CA$). By revising workflows with Ideate BIMLink, those anticipated expenditures were reduced to $5,000 CA$. 

Kasian BIM Support Specialist Laura Kay Smith says, “In the past, we did all the Room data and qualifications by hand, which cost us expensive time. With our new standard that brings in Ideate BIMLink at the beginning of every Integrated Project with Strategic Facilities Planning, we save an immeasurable amount of time and money. And designers are apt to have less re-design.”

Brigid Barriscale, Kasian Associate, adds, “When the Strategic Facilities Planning Department used to check data sheets by hand, it took two to three weeks. With Ideate BIMLink, it takes more like two to three hours.” 

Along with examples of savings, the Study in Success also details several Kasian projects and the role Ideate BIMLink had in the project’s success.

Bob Palioca, President, Ideate Inc. says of this latest Study in Success, “When we see our Ideate-developed software become integral to a firm’s standards, we are especially gratified. We consider changed workflows a demonstration of the value of our solutions.”

Ideate has published “Kasian Sets a New Facilities Planning Standard using Ideate BIMLink” online. Download the Study in Success at http://www.ideateinc.com/ideas/case.html.

About Ideate, Inc.
Ideate, Inc. is a leading Autodesk Authorized Developer with 25+ years’ experience in software development and specific focus on Building Information Modeling (BIM) and is an Autodesk solutions provider offering quality software, training, support and custom consulting services to the AEC industry since 1992. Headquartered in San Francisco, California and operating five Autodesk Authorized Training Centers (ATCs) in the northwestern U.S., Ideate is recognized as an Autodesk Gold Partner for Architecture, Engineering and Construction, one of Autodesk’s highest levels of authorization.

Ideate BIMLink lets users pull data from an Autodesk Revit file into user-friendly Microsoft Excel and push Excel data into Revit with equal ease. www.ideatebimlink.com

Ideate Explorer for Revit is a simple, powerful Autodesk Revit add-on to explore, quantify and manage the 100,000+ building elements in a Revit model. www.ideateexplorer.com

Autodesk, ATC, and Revit are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

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eLearning – Upcoming Classes

Join the Ideate Tech Experts for eLearning – live online classes that provide your entire organization with easy access to premium education. 

Upcoming classes include:

5.14.13::Revit 201:
Roof Framing in Revit Structure

5.16.13::Ideate Software 101:
Revit Project Management with Ideate BIMLink

5.28.13::Revit 201:
Making Titleblocks

Each class is designed to give you specific, improved results in a particular topic. You can interact with the instructor right from your own office, while eliminating travel time. Because the class schedule rotates, you can easily select your topics of interest and choose the day which best meets your schedule.

Click here for class descriptions, times and registration link. Questions? Contact education@ideateinc.com

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